The Emerald City has extended
a warm welcome to our intrepid race crews, providing an eclectic mix of
hospitality and entertainment to celebrate the fleet’s arrival, having
completed the crossing across one of the most remote oceans in the world.

Debuting as a host port and
team entry for the first time in the race’s history, port organisers and home
team namesake, Visit Seattle have also been showcasing the region’s top rated
attractions to its Visit Seattle crew
that put it firmly on the map as a must see destination.

First to be visited by its
adopted race Seattleites was the city’s Museum of Flight. With more than 160
historic air and spacecraft on display, crew were able to have exclusive access
to look on board craft including a Concorde jet.

Positioned in the Pacific
Northwest on Puget Sound in Washington State, Seattle has a vibrant downtown
surrounded by ocean, mountains, evergreen forests and thousands of acres of
parkland which give it its ‘Emerald City’ nickname.

The futuristic Space Needle,
a legacy of the 1962 World’s Fair and located in the Seattle Center, is the
city’s most famous landmark. Its observation platform is the best place to see
the Cascade and Olympic Mountains which flank the city, as well as the modern
skyline.

Visit
Seattle crew
member Martin Frey says: “At the top of the space needle is a time lapse camera
of the bay area. If you go back to April 17 at 0800am in the morning, you can see Visit Seattle coming into its home port
having crossed the Pacific. You can see us there in the sunshine, having a
great time.

“It’s fantastic to see our
arrival documented from the air and one of the city’s most iconic landmarks.”

There are hiking trials in
the Cascade and Olympic Mountains, and both Mount Rainier and Mount St Helens
National Parks can be visited on a day trip - while the best views of the city
can be found at Kerry Park.

Pike Place Market is
Seattle’s original farmers market and was established in 1907. It presides over
a nine acre historic district in the heart of downtown Seattle and sells
produce from local farms as well as regional specialties such as pickles,
kimchee and chocolate-covered Washington cherries. A popular way to explore the
market is through sampling what it has to offer with Eat Seattle food tours,
from Chef tours to unique samplings and purpose tours discussing food
industries in the area, there is something for everyone.

Having sampled what Pike
Place Market and the city has to offer, crew member Kate Garner says: “We have had an awesome day here with
Visit Seattle. We always knew they were going to be the best team partner. It’s
a really good match with the crew personalities and interests and that of the
city. It’s a lovely, quirky and interesting place. My favourite part of the
tour has to be the market because my favourite thing is eating!”

Meanwhile,
on Friday, other teams visited the Experience Music Project Museum. The museum
is dedicated to
contemporary popular culture in a city that was the birthplace of Jimi Hendrix,
Kurt Cobain and Pearl Jam.

Crew also visited The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Visitor Center where the connections we share with others across the globe are brought
to life with interactive displays and activities. Debates about education,
health and poverty are on the agenda at the center.

To
find out more about what’s on during the fleet’s visit to Seattle, click here.